I can "work up" to a full lock turn on my bike by turning and slowly making it tighter over a full circle or two, but I cannot immediately just jump into making a turn that tight from moving in a straight line. This makes it difficult to execute u-turns on demand. If I want to make a u-turn on the street I almost always run wide, but if I am in a parking lot, I can usually get my turning radius down to a parking space + one half ~15'. That should be plenty tight enough for any road but I cannot seem to execute it without a good bit of warmup.

Are there any drills or tips for doing this "on command"? I always feel like I am going too fast at 8mph, even though that should be fine.

I am under the impression that to scrub in the edges of tires, it would be wise to counterlean through a corner to push the bike down onto the edge of the tire but still have less lateral G force than you would if you were hanging off and on the edge of the tire.

Basically two riding positions, both riding on the edge of the tire:
A) Crossed up/counterleaning, e.g. .6G through the corner of radius X at 30mph
B) Hanging off, e.g. .8G through the corner of radius X at 50mph

Both let you use the edge of the tire but you are pushing the tire less when crossed up correct?

Given this assumption if correct, are you therefore less likely to lowside when crossed up and scraping pegs, than if you are hanging off and scraping pegs, given that if you're hanging off and scraping pegs, you're putting far more lateral G force on the tire than if you were sitting upright and pushing the bike down into the corner?

Beats me, but I'd suggest you play around with this stuff at the track. Pushing skills isn't a thing to do on the street where you may round a corner to find a girl scout troop crossing the road or patch of diesel or some sand. If you are pushing your limits, you won't have the ability to take evasive action.

Is the sole purpose of counterleaning during u-turns so that we can do them at slower speeds? If so, why can't I just sit straight in the saddle and add a few mph to my speed and maintain the same lean angle and turn radius? Or might I even hang off and do a u-turn scraping the pegs and knee at 20mph instead of 7?

This is making me think the whole drag rear brake and counterlean business is a waste of time, just add a little throttle and you can maintain the same turning radius without having to mess with the clutch or rear brake or shifting your weight at all yes?

Is the sole purpose of counterleaning during u-turns so that we can do them at slower speeds? If so, why can't I just sit straight in the saddle and add a few mph to my speed and maintain the same lean angle and turn radius? Or might I even hang off and do a u-turn scraping the pegs and knee at 20mph instead of 7?

This is making me think the whole drag rear brake and counterlean business is a waste of time, just add a little throttle and you can maintain the same turning radius without having to mess with the clutch or rear brake or shifting your weight at all yes?

I thought about posting my questions there but this seemed more appropriate. I went to one but it was more like a slow obstacle course hehe.

I answered my first question myself, the answer was simply to countersteer faster so I immediately drop into a significant lean and the bars swing back around to full lock to keep the bike upright. Will take some practice to get it down pat.

Just because the aftermarket part is for your bike doesn't mean you just slap it on there. especially if has been sitting in someone's shed for 30 years cuz they long sold their bike and finally decided to get rid of the part.

Most of these posts are right on the money. I'm a semi-geezer at 45, and learned to ride in the woods back when the XR 600 was king. I later moved on to a host of 2-stroke machines that taught me about big power coming in very small packages. No one can argue against the skill set developed through riding off road, where the terrain changes by the foot, and the bike is always floating under you in a state of constant over / understeer. Here in VT, the roads are a constant mess, with most of the asphalt connecting to gravel. There are often huge sections that come out of nowhere that contain marble sized gravel and sand to catch you out. The "old and bold" comment is accurate as hell.

Don't know if it's been said before, but riding up to a red light with those sensor lines, ride up REAL slowly towards the light..there are several sensors in the last 300 feet or so and they WILL pick up your bike if you drive slowly. Just try it with one of the more difficult lights to trigger and see if there's a difference.

The only thing I remember the older riders telling me was," Your most likely to crash in the first year because you don't know anything, and in the second year because you think you know everything..." and a guy in Germany on a BMW R90S told me,"If you are going around a corner and the valve cover starts scraping, give it more throttle to jack up the rear end and you will be able to lean over further." One I've heard lately, "Ride like you are invisible, but the people who can see you are trying to kill you."

I can "work up" to a full lock turn on my bike by turning and slowly making it tighter over a full circle or two, but I cannot immediately just jump into making a turn that tight from moving in a straight line. This makes it difficult to execute u-turns on demand. If I want to make a u-turn on the street I almost always run wide, but if I am in a parking lot, I can usually get my turning radius down to a parking space + one half ~15'. That should be plenty tight enough for any road but I cannot seem to execute it without a good bit of warmup.

Are there any drills or tips for doing this "on command"? I always feel like I am going too fast at 8mph, even though that should be fine.

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I find that I CAN do u-turns now on two lane roads. It helps a lot to use some light pressure on the rear brake (only the rear) to help control the bike. ...works real well for me.

about those wide uturns
only thing stopping you is your brain.
practice in a parking lot. once you get the hang of it, put some markings on the tar. your brain should be making it more difficult. once that works get some physical yet innocent boundaries, like cones or empty bottles.

once you learn to ignore them and see them for what they are; obstacles irrelevant to your path; you'll u turn on a one lane road without breaking a sweat